U2 album shatters a historic Billboard sales record

The Irish supergroup’s latest album, Songs of Experience, has hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart. That makes U2 the only group in music history to have No. 1 albums four decades in a row: The 1980s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s.

Now, a few solo artists have also pulled off having four consecutive decades of No. 1 albums –namely, Bruce Springsteen, Barbara Streisand and Janet Jackson — but not a music group.

The Beatles come close to U2’s record, sort of. They had No. 1 albums in the ’60s, ’70s, ’90s and ’00s (the ’80s broke their streak). But unlike U2, The Beatles’ chart-topping albums in the later decades were obviously not new studio albums.

Songs of Experience marks the bands eighth No. 1 album, but the first one this decade.Previously U2 had 2014’s Songs of Innocence (which wasn’t a Billboard hit since the album was rather infamously given away to iTunes users). Before that, U2 had No Line on the Horizon back in 2009.

According to Billboard, Songs of Experience has sold 186,000 copies by the week ending Dec. 7. It’s also the biggest first week of sales for a rock band this year.